Business & Sustainable Development Fundamentals

Course Director: Lin Lerpold

Overview

The seminal definition of sustainable development (Our Common Future, 1987) broadly interlinks concerns for the environment, economic and social development to the global policy agenda. It brings in an intergenerational perspective in time, and geographic considerations in space. Our transition towards sustainable development involves multi-stakeholders such as global and national policymakers, investors, businesses, consumers, trade unions and civil society actors. Challenges caused by climate change, biodiversity loss, population growth, poverty and inequality along with geopolitics and conflict are interlinked and increasingly impacting, or being impacted, by our socioeconomic systems interacting with corporate and human behavior. The salience and complexity of diverse concerns must be understood through the underlying philosophies, levels of analysis and multi-stakeholder perspectives, but also by which dominant logics and theories you apply. Understanding the inevitable tradeoffs and identifying the potential synergies interlinking the many sustainable development concerns requires a basic understanding of the broad theoretical and empirical research to date, but also, though most often unaddressed, a reflective stance on underlying philosophies and normative ethics.

This is an introductory course on selected economic and social sustainability topics and takes a global perspective comparing values and interests, economic systems and markets, tradeoffs and interlinkages to consider the complexities as they relate to business and economics studies. Each of the double sessions will have a connection to relevant current debates in the world. The course is targeted towards ambitious MSc level students prepared to read peer reviewed research articles and interested in understanding the intellectual foundations necessary for understanding our world, and ultimately for crafting more future looking corporate sustainability strategies. In the spirit that "there is nothing as practical as a good theory" (Lewin, 1943), an in-depth understanding of sustainable development underpinnings is imperative for sound future-looking sustainable business strategies.
Beyond the intro lecture, each of the focused seminar sessions will illustrate different perspectives on a selected sustainability topics and will start with a multiple choice quiz on assigned readings to be applied to a current debate students will receive in class, followed by a socratic method based dialogue on the topic. The quiz is to ensure that students are adequately prepared for an effective socratic method diologue where the ambition is to explore different avenues of thought rather than to have a “right” answer. Throughout the course, students will apply their learning in a group project to be presented on the final course day. The course assigned reading list is carefully curated to contrast diverse underlying philosophies on a subject (2-4 peer reviewed research articles, or multilateral conventions and directives, downloaded from the SSE Library databases for each double session topic). They combine literature in political science, sociology, law, economics and management as a basis for the socratic dialogue pedagogy to support students critical thinking skills. To facilitate this form of pedagogy, the course is capped to maximum 20 students and class participation is mandatory and evaluated.

The selected half day seminar topics as they relate to sustainable development:

• Sustainable development; Past, present and future
• Interlinkages, synergies and tradeoffs
• Varieties of capitalism and institutional logics
• Economic growth, inclusive growth and degrowth
• Global governance
• Human rights in a global context
• Migration, integration, intersectionality and modern slavery
• Stakeholder versus shareholder perspectives

Format and structure
The course consists of an intro lecture, 7 half day seminar sessions plus a half day presentations of group projects. Each session will introduce a selected sustainability topic and will start with a focused multiple choice quiz on assigned readings applied to a current debate handed out with the quiz. This to ensure and faciltate a productive and constructive socratic method type pedagogy designed to support reflective and critical thinking. Students are obliged to be present, active in class discussions, and constructively contribute to their peers' learning. The course will cap enrolment to maximum 20 students. A final group project on a sustainability double materiality analysis (DMA) will ideally integrate diverse perspectives from the course and each of the student’s MSc programs to facilitate sound corporate sustainability strategies. Project work is intended to connect critical thinking and reflection to corporate application. Quizes, class contribution and the group project will be assessed using Bloom’s taxonomy, whereby application, evaluation and analysis over description is rewarded in all parts.

Relevance to the students
Understanding society's and businesses’ role in enabling the transition towards sustainable development applies to all SSE MSc programs in economics or business administration. The course supports students reflective and analytical understanding of our global challenges and explores why they are contextualized as more or less salient depending on which lens they are approached from (e.g., social vs. natural sciences), where they are experienced (e.g,. Global North vs. Global South) or for whom they represent (e.g., policymaker, corporate manager, civil socity). The learnings from this course apply equally to public, private or civil society careers, both at the strategic and operational level.

Implementation of FREE
The connection between the assigned research literature, the multi-contextual course design approach and the socratic method pedagogy directly supports a fact and science based mindset (F) with critical reflection (R), self-awareness and empathy (E) The group project enables the students to go from received knowledge and critical reflection to agency and application in the group project (E).

SDG Integration
All SDGs will be engaged on along with exploring their interlinkages, tradeoffs and synergies. At the primary level, social world goals are foregrounded as they impact natural world goals.

Course Administrator: Tina.Bengtsson@hhs.se

After the course, the students should be able to:

• Identify and describe diverse ontological and epistomological underpinnings of sustainable development and how multistakeholders interact and engage with sustainability.
• Critically reflect on and understand the multi-dimensional aspects of sustainable development strategies, along with their tradeoffs and synergies.
• Apply identification, understanding and reflections to double sustainability materiality analyses for multiple stakeholder actors at different levels of analysis.

This course is a MSc elective course eligible for the Sustainability Track requirement and aims to be equally relevant to all MSc program students. Beyond a keen interest in sustainable development research, mandatory scholarly reading preparation and in-class participation, no other prerequisites are required.

No single textbook, only a list of carefully curated research articles, international conventions and norm declarations that will be available to download from the SSE Library. Each half day session will include 3-4 mandatory readings. The curated list will be available on Canvas.

• 50% Seven quizes on reading assignments (ILO 1, individual assessment)
• 25% Seminar contribution, class participation (ILO 2, individual assessment)
• 25% Final project (ILO 3, group assessment)

Class participation evaluation is based on engagement (contributing to discussion by demonstrating engagement with course readings, making connections and providing probing questions to drive the diologue and learning forwards), as well as respectful engaged and active listening. Both the group project and class participation adheres to Bloom’s Taxonomy philosophy for evaluation. Bloom's Taxonomy is a six-level framework for learning that progresses from simple to complex thinking: remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. It helps students understand how to move from basic recall of facts to higher-order thinking skills like problem-solving and creating new ideas.

Find the course schedule in TimeEdit

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